Printing-telegraph.



PATENTED APR. 26,1904,

-G.L;HBA-LAY. PRINTING TELEGRAPH.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1903.

no MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented April 26, 1904;.

PATENT Orrice.

CLARENCE L. HEALY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

PRINTING-TELEGRAPH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,250, dated April 26, 1904:.

Application filed .Tune 16, 1903. Serial No. 161,640. .(No model.)

.To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE L. HEALY, a citizen of the United States, residing at N ewark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing -Telegraphs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to printing-telegraphs, the object being to provide means for automatically unisoning the printers with the transmitter, and this at such short intervals as to insure that the instruments shall never be out of unison longer than is required to print one word or group of figures. For this purpose my unisoning device operates each time the spacing-key of the transmitter is touched.

The unison devices now in use require the special manipulation and attention of the transmitting operator, who uses his judgment as to when the devices shall be manipulated. The operator ordinarily manipulates the unison devices after anumber of words or groups of figures have been transmitted, with the result that often large portions of the transmitted matter are unintelligible, and if the operator manipulates the unison devices at more frequent intervals the result is that he consumes valuable time, which during busy hours is a great detriment to the service. In accordance with my invention, as before stated, if the printers get out of step during the printing of any word or group of figures the correction is made automatically at the printing of the spacing character or dot following the word.

My invention consists of an electromagnet which is energized each time the spacing-key ofthe transmitter is touched and two limitingstops for the armature of said magnet, one of which is carried by the type-wheel shaft and is in normal position only when the wheel is in unison, while the other is a fixed stop which is operative only when the first is not in the unison position, these stops being so combined with electrical or mechanical devices that when the first-mentioned stop is operative the typewheel shaft is permitted to continue its rotation in unison with the transmitter; but when the second stop is operative the detent is thrown into position to arrest the type-wheel when it arrives at the unison position, at which position it is again released when the spacing-key of the transmitter is next touched. I have illustrated various ways of carrying out my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Y Figure 1 is a general diagrammatic representation of the transmitter and one receivingprinter, including only such portions thereof as are necessary to illustrate my invention; and Figs. 2 and?) show modifications of the devices used on the receiving-printers.

A represents the type-wheel shaft of the receiving-printer. It carries a pin B, which is located on the same radius as the spacing or unisoning dot of the character-wheel. pin is carried on a sleeve which is insulated from the shaft and with which a brush 5 makes sliding contact. The shaft also carries a finger E, by engaging which the rotary motion of the shaft is arrested. The pin B serves as a limiting-stop foran armature-lever Kof a magnet C; but in order to limit the movement of the lever pin B must be in its unison or normal position. In case it is not thus located a second stationary limiting-stop J is provided which stops the lever after it has moved slightly beyond the position where it would be ordinarily stopped by the pin B.

F and G are two electromagnets, and H is an armature common to both of them pivoted at h and carrying a hook H, adapted to be thrown into and out of the path of'movement of the finger E by said magnets, respectively.

D is the escapement-magnet of the printer.

At the transmitting-station there is theusual keyboard P, having the letter and figure keys p and the spacing-key L. There are also the usual sunflower s, the transmitter-clutch magnet V, a polar relay T for sending current reversals to line to operate. the escapement-magnet, and the line-adjusting rheostat R. A portion of the rheostat is normally shunted by the armature? of an electromagnet N, so that the reverse currents impressed upon the 'line through the relay Twill be heavy enough to operate the escapement-magnet D. A second shunt to the rheostat is controlled by the armature m of electromagnet M. This shunt is open while the escapement-magnet is being This operated and also during the printing of a letter or figure; but during the printing of the spacing character this shunt is closed, which provides for a current of the proper strength to accomplish the operations then to take place in accordance with my invention, the operation of which will now be described, as well as the electric circuits involved. At the end of each word or group of figures the operator presses the key L of the transmitter to print a spacing-dot. The operation of this key closes a circuit through the magnet M, the clutch-magnet V, and the magnet N, as can be plainly traced. This closes the shunt on around the rheostat and permits a heavy current to be sent over the line X sufficient to energize magnet C, the ordinary positioning and printing current not being strong enough for this purpose. If the printer is in unison, its pin B will be in position to stop the lever K and a circuit will be established from the main wire X on one side of the escapementmagnet by wire '1, armature lever, pin B, brush Z, wire 2, magnet F, and wire 3 to the main line on the opposite side of the escapement-magnet. This shunt-circuit will therefore carry current which will energize magnet F, which in acting upon armature H will holdthe hook H out of the path of movement of the finger E and permit the type-shaft to rotate in continuance of its synchronous condition. If, however, when the spacing-keyL is pressed by the operator the type -wheel shaft is out of unison, pin B is not at the unison position, and the armature K will rise until it is limited by the stop J. This will close a circuit through magnet G by way of wires 4 and 3, and the magnet will throw hook H into the path of movement of finger E, which will then arrest the type-shaft as, soon as it has moved to the unison, position. The shaft will thus be held until the spacing-key is again pressed, whereupon pin B, being in its normal position, will establish a circuit through the F magnet and release the shaft, permitting it to rotate in unison with the transmitter. Hence the longest possible period during which any printer can be out of unison is from any character in one word or group of figures to another character in the next following word or group of figures.

It will be seen that by means of the shunts around the line-adjusting rheostat the current to line is automatically proportioned for the work to be done at any given instant. Thus while the pole-changing relay is sending reversals to operate the escapements shunt 7* determines the proper current for this work. While the letter and figure keys are operated, shunt o is open, and a less yet sufficient current is afforded, and when the spacing-key is operated the necessary heavy current for op erating the unisoning devices is provided by closing shunt m.

Fig. 2 shows a mechanical arrangement for locking and unlocking the type-wheel shaft. On the shaft is a yoke 0, having guides for a cross-pin 0', which correspond tothe pin B, before referred to. At one side is another pin (Z, mounted to slide in a bracket (Z. a is a rocking lever having one end adapted to be projected into the path of movement of a finger f, carried on the shaft at the unison position. When the heavy spacing-current is sent, the armature-lever is limited by the pin 0 if the printer is in unison, but if not the pin (Z limits the lever and is forced thereby upward against lever e, throwing the latter into the path of the finger f. The shaft is thereby stopped at the unison position, and upon the transmission of the next spacing impulse lever K strikes pin 0, lifts lever e, and releases the type-wheel shaft, permitting it to move in unison with the transmitter. I

Fig. 3 shows another mechanical arrangement. On the shaft there are a unison-pin g and a worm la. The second limiting-stop is in the form of a rod Z, attached to a rocking lever j, which carries'at its opposite end another rod In, the end of which is adapted to be projected into the thread of the worm Zr when rod Z is lifted. At the end of the worm is a finger Z in the unison position. Lever K carries a push-rod g, adapted to strike a projection 70' on the rod 76, and the latter rod is drawn toward a stop Z by a spring u. If the instrument is in unison, pin 9 limits lever K; but if it is not in unison the lever lifts rod 6, which results in throwing rod 70 into engagement with the worm it. The continued rotation of the shaft carries the end of rod 76 to the right until the shaft is stopped by the unison-finger Z colliding with Z9. At the next spacing impulse push-rod q strikes the projection Zr, lifts rod 70 out of engagement with the worm, and spring a returns the rod to its normal position, releasing the lever and allowing it to start off in unison with the transmitter.

Other mechanical arrangements might be devised for carrying out the principle upon which this invention is based, andI therefore do not limit myself in any event to the details of construction. I wish also to observe that the pin B or its equivalent is not necessarily located on the type-wheel shaft, but may be on any shaft moving in proportion to the typewheel shaft.

It is evident that instead of the spacing-key a special or any other key or circuit-controller on or adjacent to the keyboard of the transmitter can be used to operate the unison device, and it is to beunderstood that the mention of the spacing-key in the claims which follow is intended to cover such equivalents.

.Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a printing-telegraph, a unison device consisting of an electromagnet, an armaturelever therefor, two stops for the armature-lever, one of which moves in proportion to the of'the detent.

i said electromagnet is energized'only upon the operation of the spacing-key.

3. In a printing-telegraph, a unison device consisting of an electromagnet, an armaturelever therefor, two stops for the armature-lever, one of which moves in proportion to the type-carrier and serves as a stop only when the carrier is in the unison position, while the other is fixed, a detent for the type-carrier and means whereby said detent will be engaged when the lever limits on the fixed stop and released when the lever limits on the movable stop, substantially as described.

4:. In aprinting-telegraph, the combination of an electromagnet, an armature-lever therefor, two stops for the armature-lever, one of which moves in proportion to the type-carrier, a detent for the type-carrier, and a locking and an unlocking magnet for said detent whose circuits are respectively controlled by said stops, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE L. HEALY. Witnesses:

FRANK S. OBER,

W'ALDo M. CHAPIN. 

